Category Archives: Nature

A Spring Walk at the Farm

Birds, Cherries, Cherry Tree, garden, garlic scapes,, Killdeer, Nature, potatoes, Prayer Garrden, Primrose, Reflections, Roses, Strawberries, The Farm, Wild Flowers, Windmill, , , ,

Hello and welcome! It’s a beautiful morning and I thought you might like to join me for a walk at the farm.

We are seeing new blossoms every day.

The white phlox that we added to the prayer garden last year are flowering.

The primrose are beginning to bloom.

and the roses are blooming.

Our peony has only a single flower this year, but it sure is a beautiful one.

We will be picking strawberries later.

But we won’t be cutting garlic scapes for about a week. The scape is the light colored, curved shoot in the middle. They are just beginning to form.

The wild roses are in full bloom. They are very fragrant – in fact you might have smelled their lovely scent before you saw the blossoms.

Daisies scattered here and there.

A flowering shrub that I have not identified. It does have a light pleasant fragrance.

A short stroll through the woods is shady and lush.

Beyond the woods the sun shines on the neighbor’s yard.

Mixed among the grasses you might notice wild plants such as selfheal (the purple flowers) and black medic (the yellow flowers). Both are edible and medicinal.

Fleabane is a common daisy-like wildflower in our area.

Our gardens are doing well so far. Some of the tomatoes have blossoms already.

Potatoes are also doing well.

Cabbage is coming along nicely. There are also green beans, eggplant and a few other things in this patch.

Our apple trees are loaded with apples this year. It’s looking like a we may have a bumper crop this fall.

Ripe cherries on one of our new trees. I harvest three wonderful, sweet cherries from this tree. Hoping for a bigger harvest next year.

The killdeer quadruplets are still running around. They are nearly as big as the parents so I expect they will be flying off soon.

But in about a week this killdeer and its mate, who decided to nest in the middle of our driveway (forcing us to detour around the area) should have four more babies running around.

And about a week after that these four killdeer eggs, that are being incubated in an unused area of the garden, should be hatching.

In the back field we see clover,

and these yellow flowers birdsfoot trefoil.

Butter cups under the spruce tree.

And look at those pinecones.

We have a large patch of milkweed in the back field. I have seen a couple of monarch butterflies in the area, so they likely have laid eggs as their caterpillars feed on milkweed leaves once they hatch.

Milkweed.

I believe this yellow flower is called common cat’s ear. It is scattered throughout the field.

More wild roses in the wood line. Enjoy their lovely fragrance.

When we arrive back by the prayer garden my husband points out the nest that some birds (sparrows I think) have built in the top of the windmill. That was not there two days ago. Fortunately, it does not interfere with the operations of the windmill.

Thanks for joining me for a spring walk at the farm. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

As a special treat for spending this time with me I am sharing this rare glimpse of the mourning dove who is nesting in the maple tree above our deck. It has been there about two weeks now and I have tried taking pictures many times but mostly I can’t see it through the leaves. I finally got a good photo. I have not seen its mate around, but I read that mourning doves take turns sitting on the nest with males usually there during the daytime and females on the nest at night.

A Good Week

Birds, crochet, Fencing, Flowers, Horses, Nature, Pansies, Planting, Pond, Reflections, Ruby, The Farm

Hello and Welcome!

Spring Has Sprung

This week turned out to be much like I expected. Robins and red winged blackbirds have returned to the area and the daffodils are poking up through the ground. The garlic had actually sprouted last fall but it has now resumed growing after its winter break. I have yet to hear the frogs sing.

Last year I made this bird house out of corks. We hung it in a tree at the farm. It was late spring, and I suspect the birds already had their nests built so this house went unoccupied. I am hoping someone will make it home this year.

Crafting

I finished the afghan I was crocheting (picture above) this week and started another. The one I am making now will be bigger than this one. It is the paw print pattern that I like to crochet. I intend to donate it to the Humane Society so they can raffle it off at one of their fundraisers.

When the Grass is Greener

Last spring our neighbor decided to expand the area where he lets his horses graze. Our fence is their barrier where our property meets his.

Colby Jack has discovered that this time of year the grass on our side of the fence is greener and tastier than what is in his pasture.

The problem is that he is not quite tall enough to reach the grass without bending the top of our fence.

Here’s a closer look. Can you see how the top part of the fence is bent over? Last year the owner strung an electric wire to keep Colby Jack away from our fence, but it didn’t stay in place very long. We haven’t complained because we feel bad for the horses that they are not provided better quality feed. At least the fence still keeps Ranger in.

A Dip in the Pond

It is way too early for me to go in the pond. There was still ice on it yesterday,

but that didn’t bother Ruby who had to go looking for minnows or tadpoles.

Playing in the Dirt

In the last several years it has become sort of a tradition for us to pot up some pansies in early spring and set them in the flower bed along our deck. They are bright and cheery and add some much-needed color while we wait for everything else to come back to life. On Thursday my husband made my day by going the greenhouse and coming home with two flats of pansies.

So, I got to play in the dirt. 🙂

There were 36 pansies in the two flats, and I divided them into 12 pots. Oh, so pretty. We may still have a few nights when temperatures drop well below freezing, but the nice thing about have these in pots is that we can bring them indoors to protect them from the cold.

While I was “playing in the dirt” I planted some spinach and pea seeds that we will grow in containers on our deck. I don’t think it’s too early since these are cold season crops.

My husband spent a little time with his hands in the dirt as well. Since we grow most of our plants from seed, he started eggplant and several types of peppers that we will grow indoors under grow lights until late May when we can get them into the garden. He will be starting tomatoes next. Planting season has begun!

Overall, it was a good and productive week and now that spring has sprung it only gets better from here. 🙂

Thanks for visiting.

A Peek at Last Week

Dogs, Harvest Moon, Horses, Nature, Reflections

Hello and welcome. I am just sharing a few pictures and notes from last week.

Monday morning when I took the dogs out for their morning romp, we were greeted by this heron who was enjoying brunch at the pond. It didn’t stick around once the dogs and I got out of the van. I do hope it had its fill.

That same evening when I went to close up the coop the moon was big, bright and beautiful in the eastern sky. It was a day short of being the full (harvest) moon. This was also a supermoon.

On Sunday we hosted a special visitor at the farm.

Some of you might remember meeting Taffy in my post from last year. It was actually a year ago this past week when we picked up Taffy from the shelter and took her to her new home to live with her new best friend, my dad.

Dad doesn’t get out much due to physical problems, so Taffy doesn’t get out much either. Ever since dad got Taffy my husband has wanted to pick her up and bring her to the farm for a visit. We finally did it.

Ranger and Ruby didn’t mind her being there. I suspect they were already somewhat familiar with her because I always come home from dad’s place with her scent on my clothes. Their meeting was a matter of putting a face with the scent. Likewise for Taffy. She probably recognized their scent as the one I have on my clothes when I come to her house.

Taffy seemed to enjoy being able to wander around off leash and she walked the perimeter of the back field with me.

She was curious about the horses. She acted like she wanted to play with Bernard (the miniature) but she backed away when Colby Jack got close. I think he was a bit intimidating.

At first Taffy didn’t pay any attention to the chickens but eventually she got curios and began chasing them. They were easily able to outrun her and knew the good hiding places so she didn’t hurt any of them. Next time she visits I will do some on-leash training to teach her not to chase the chickens.

After about an hour and a half I took Taffy back home where she slept the rest of the day away. Spending time at the farm does seem to have that effect on dogs – it tires them out.

Thanks for visiting. Did you see the full moon last week?

If I Were A Bird

Birds, Buff Orpingtons, Chickens, Chicks, Eggs, Killdeer, Nature, Reflections

A few weeks ago I gave my sister a pot of pansies. She has had it on her porch on a table between the chairs that she and her husband sit in to enjoy the outdoors. Last weekend she sent a picture of the nest a robin had built in the pot of pansies. I told her “If I were a robin I would build my nest there.” She wasn’t sure if the robin would lay eggs and raise babies there because she and her husband sit there often. Apparently, the robin is undeterred. 🙂 When I last talked to her there were two eggs in the nest.

If I were a bird I would not want to be a kildeer. On Thursday my husband and I witnessed a pair of kildeer with their three young babies. If you are not familiar with kildeer you can learn more about them here. I didn’t have my camera with me, but I doubt if I would have gotten any good photos as they were always in motion. The babies, which are up and running around within hours of hatching, are so cute, but boy do those parents have their wings full keeping track of the babies. It’s a good thing that both parents raise the young together as they usually have 3-5 babies (running every which way) and while the babies feed themselves, they are unable to fly until they are about 25 days old, thus they need protection from predators.

If I were a bird, I would likely be a chicken – in fact I’m sure I was called a mother hen more than once when my ‘chicks’ were young. 🙂 Much like kildeer, baby chickens are up and out of the nest very quickly. They also eat and drink on their own but rely on their mother (or humans) for warmth and protection. The rooster does not help raise chicks, but mother hens are generally very attentive and protective of their chicks.

We currently have several hens that are broody. If Buff Orpingtons have any fault, it’s their tendency to go broody. About two weeks ago we gave 10 eggs to one of the hens, the Buff Orpington in the corner of the picture below. Since then one of our Jersey Giants (the black hen pictured below) decided to share the parenting responsibilities.

Most of the time when the buff was on the nest the jersey would nestle up beside her. Sometimes the jersey would sneak a couple of the eggs and put them under herself. If the buff would leave the nest the jersey would take over. We did mark the original 10 eggs because sometimes we find an extra egg or two in the nest. Saturday my husband split the eggs giving each hen 5 eggs and so far the hens seem content that they each have their own clutch. We don’t know how long that will last.

We have about a week to wait until the babies are due to hatch. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. I would love to have some little chicks running around and watch momma(s) raising them. I’ll keep you posted.

If you were a bird what kind of bird would you be? What kind of bird would you not want to be?

Farm News and Views

Bees, Birds, Blueberries, Deer, Flowers, garden, Nature, Pollinators, Prayer Garrden, Rain,, Reflections, Summer, The Farm, Wild Flowers, Wildlife

Healthy Harvest

Our blueberry harvest is well underway and an abundant harvest it is. My husband and I picked about 5 quarts last Thursday, then on Sunday my sister brought her grandkids out and they picked another 5 or so quarts. The berries are still ripening so I hope to have my grandkids over this weekend to pick some as well. Blueberries are Addies favorite.

We have also been picking and enjoying Swiss chard and green beans.

Too Much of a Good Thing

In the last several weeks we have had more than enough rain. The ground is saturated, and our brassica vegetables are suffering because of it. You might remember as we wrapped up June our gardens were looking great, especially the cabbage.

Cauliflower after too much rain.

They are no longer looking good.

Cabbage after too much rain.

Some of the other plants are showing signs of stress as well like yellowing leaves (squash), slow growth (beets) and split fruit (tomatoes).

On the Wrong Side of the Fence

This fawn was on the inside of our fence.

and was not sure how to get out.

While its mother was on the outside of our fence apparently wanting to get her baby out. I’m not certain how the young one got inside our fence. I don’t think it was born on our property because it looked to be at least several weeks old and I think we would have encountered it before now. I don’t think it jumped over the fence because it didn’t seem to know how to jump back over. In the evenings, when the dogs are not at the farm, we sometimes leave the gate open, so a likely case scenario would be that momma brought the baby in when the gate was open and we unknowingly locked the baby in.

That evening we again left the gate open hoping the little one would find its way out and back to momma. We haven’t seen it around since that day so we are assuming it found its way out.

Pollinator Paradise

The prayer garden is abuzz with bees. Honeybees and bumble bees among other pollinators are heavily foraging the lavender, thyme, oregano and tickseed.

But our back field also has lots to offer pollinators. Perhaps we should call it a”Field of Pollinator Dreams”.

The field is blanketed with white clover as is most of our farm. It is a favorite of the honeybees.

Clover is a very common flavor/ingredient in honey.

Over the years this birdsfoot trefoil has spread throughout the field. We have witnessed a lot of honeybees collecting nectar/pollen from its blossoms.

Canadian thistle also attracts bees and other pollinators for its nectar. As it goes to seed I expect we will see goldfinches in the field as thistle seed is a favorite food of theirs.

Milkweed is another plant that is prevalent in our back field this year.

Milkweed is sometimes known as the monarch butterfly plant because these butterflies lay their eggs only on milkweed plants and their hatchling caterpillars feed exclusively on milkweed.

If you grow it, they will come.

We often see the monarchs fluttering above and around the patch of milkweed. There are many.

Monarchs are not the only ones with an appreciation for the milkweed as I also witnessed a honeybee on a milkweed flower and caught a quick glimpse of a hummingbird darting around the patch.

The most northern part of the field is filled with sweet clover this year. This biennial is another blossom that is loved by honeybees.

This monarch is not on a milkweed plant but perched on another plant near the milkweed patch.

I think of this field as ‘nature at its best’. It has had very little human intervention. It just grows wild. We keep some paths mowed around and through it during the summer for walking and riding the 4-wheeler and each fall after the vegetation dies we mow the field. This mowing helps to spread the seeds of plants like the trefoil, clover, thistle and milkweed so over the course of a few years what started out as just a couple of plants has become large patches of that plant.

Fun Pictures

Cattails swaying in the breeze.

Balloon flowers in bloom.

Daylilies and a hidden damselfly.

A closeup of the damselfly.

Believe it or not this is a bluebird house. Over the years we have seen different birds make their homes in the life preservers near our pond. A few days ago my husband mentioned seeing a bluebird fly out of this life preserver. Since then I too have witnessed the bluebird flying out of there. It doesn’t seem to have eggs inside so perhaps just using it for shelter or a playhouse. 🙂

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you are having a great July!